India seeks more liquid shale gas from US to bridge demand-supply gap

NEW DELHI: Energy-hungry India has asked the US to export more liquid shale gas to help bridge its yawning gap between supply and demand.

Gas-surplus US at present allows exports of small amounts of natural gas. It has so far allowed only Cheniere Energy to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Sabine Pass LNG terminal to countries that have not signed free-trade agreements with the US such as India.

In a pioneering effort, state-owned gas utility GAIL India recently signed an agreement to import 3.5 million tons a year of LNG from Lousiana-based Sabine Pass Liquefaction LLC, a subsidiary of Cheniere Energy.

But with India's energy needs galloping, GAIL Chairman and Managing Director B C Tripathi wants to tap all of the seven LNG export terminals planned in US and has written Oil Ministry as well as Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to push Washington to allow other terminals to sell gas to India.

On his prod, MEA took up the matter with US. "We have taken up the matter with the US, requesting approval of shale gas/LNG export from all LNG exporter terminals in the US," Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai wrote to Oil Secretary G C Chaturvedi on June 2.

Tripathi had in his letter pointed that the seven planned LNG terminals only to nations that have signed free-trade agreements (FTAs) with the US.

"This implies that GAIL as a representative company of India, cannot conclude any contractual arrangement with these seven LNG export terminal companies till the time non-FTA approval is given to them," he wrote. "This is coming in way of GAIL's efforts to finalise liquid shale gas export from USA to India whereas time is very ripe now to strike LNG deals at competitive prices".